Driving in France

On 10/31/2011 07:28 PM, Cathy L wrote:
We are thinking of taking another trip to France. Do you think it is
easy to just rent a car and drive around?

Cathy L.

Rent a car easy - probably. Have always rented a car in Germany, Spain
or Italy. You'll need a valid driving license - not an IDL.

Drive around easy - yes, but beware traffic from right. It's the law at
all uncontrolled road intersections, and in France there are plenty.
That includes places with extremely heavy traffic such as the
Peripherique and the Place d'Etoile.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priority_from_the_right

On 31/10/2011 3:20 PM, JohnT wrote:

"Cathy L" wrote in message
...
We are thinking of taking another trip to France. Do you think it is
easy to just rent a car and drive around?

Why should it be difficult?


Because Cathy is a moron troll who has a habit of posting stupid
questions here.

On 31/10/2011 5:31 PM, James Silverton wrote:

Parisian traffic circles have to be experienced! Other cities like
London and Frankfurt are bad but don't compare with Paris. If you've
ever seen someone step off the kerb near a rental agency and be wiped
out, as I did, you'ld never rent in Paris.


I went on a trip to Europe with my brothers and their wives. and our
plan was to rent a car and end up in Paris. Having been in Paris before,
I suggested that we drop the cars off at the airport and take public
transport into the city. A SiL who had lived in France and been to Paris
supported that suggestion. After we arrived downtown they understood
and were glad they had agreed with me,

I have been to the Arc de Triomphe several times and have never seen the
traffic circle around it without at least one fender bender.

One day while being taken to my hotel by taxi I pointed out to the
driver that we had to go left because he was way over in the right hand
lane. He knew that, but according to him, the vehicle on the right had
the right of way, so if he went over to the right he could cut over to
the left and everyone would have to let him in. That helped to explain
why I saw so few cars without big dents in them.

On 01/11/2011 4:33 AM, Johannes Kleese wrote:

But couldn't you say the same for rush hour traffic in ANY large city,
ANYWHERE? (Not only Paris, London, Los Angeles or New York, but even
Phoenix AZ.)

Being stuck in rush hour is one issue. The trouble is if you're stuck
and have no idea where you are. Being stuck, not knowing where, and this
in a city that grew over 2000 years and was made for pedestrians and a
handfull of horse carriages - that's hell



Think of Paris as an old city that started off as a number of small
hamlets that had connecting roads and then merged so that many of the
main streets are the old connections. The streets are laid out like the
strands of a psychotic spider's web. Major streets run on a variety of
angles. Many of the roads go a few blocks, then change names and direction.

On 01/11/2011 6:07 AM, Runge 131 wrote:
Lol stoopid amelicans...

Also, for me, my French is adequate for touristic purposes, but it is
slow and I'm not especially familiar with traffic patterns and signs.
So I don't like to be in situations where I would have to react
quickly.

Parisian traffic circles have to be experienced! Other cities like
London and Frankfurt are bad but don't compare with Paris. If you've
ever seen someone step off the kerb near a rental agency and be wiped
out, as I did, you'ld never rent in Paris.


The only place where I have every had to deal with a lot of traffic
circles was in Denmark. I have to say that it has to be the most
comfortable country for a tourist to drive in. Traffic never seemed to
be really heavy, and there was no aggressive driving. They were the most
courteous drivers I have ever shared the road with.

On Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:16:21 -0400, Dave Smith wrote:

On 01/11/2011 4:33 AM, Johannes Kleese wrote:

But couldn't you say the same for rush hour traffic in ANY large city,
ANYWHERE? (Not only Paris, London, Los Angeles or New York, but even
Phoenix AZ.)

Being stuck in rush hour is one issue. The trouble is if you're stuck
and have no idea where you are. Being stuck, not knowing where, and
this in a city that grew over 2000 years and was made for pedestrians
and a handfull of horse carriages - that's hell



Think of Paris as an old city that started off as a number of small
hamlets that had connecting roads and then merged so that many of the
main streets are the old connections. The streets are laid out like the
strands of a psychotic spider's web. Major streets run on a variety of
angles. Many of the roads go a few blocks, then change names and
direction.

The main boulevards of Paris were created in the mid-19th century by
Baron Haussmann.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haussma...ation_of_Paris


--
Dave Hatunen, Tucson, Baja Arizona

On 01/11/2011 6:22 PM, David Hatunen wrote:


Think of Paris as an old city that started off as a number of small
hamlets that had connecting roads and then merged so that many of the
main streets are the old connections. The streets are laid out like the
strands of a psychotic spider's web. Major streets run on a variety of
angles. Many of the roads go a few blocks, then change names and
direction.

The main boulevards of Paris were created in the mid-19th century by
Baron Haussmann.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haussma...ation_of_Paris





Yes he did. Heturned the annexed the outside towns into arrondisements
and he created a set of roads to connect them.

I was envious of my son to treat himself to a trip to Paris for his
birthday and happy to see that he spent some time in Cemetaire Pere
LaChaisse and took some photos of interesting graves. One of them was
Haussman's.

On 01/11/2011 6:36 PM, Martin wrote:

The only place where I have every had to deal with a lot of traffic
circles was in Denmark. I have to say that it has to be the most
comfortable country for a tourist to drive in. Traffic never seemed to
be really heavy, and there was no aggressive driving. They were the most
courteous drivers I have ever shared the road with.

The vast tax on cars in Denmark explains the relative paucity of them.

I wondered about that. Every Dane I met told me about the 180% sales tax
on new cars.


By nature most Danes are not aggressive, unlike the Dutch.

I found Dutch drivers to be fast, but not particularly aggressive.

On Tue, 1 Nov 2011 22:22:28 +0000 (UTC), David Hatunen wrote:

On Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:16:21 -0400, Dave Smith wrote:

On 01/11/2011 4:33 AM, Johannes Kleese wrote:

But couldn't you say the same for rush hour traffic in ANY large city,
ANYWHERE? (Not only Paris, London, Los Angeles or New York, but even
Phoenix AZ.)

Being stuck in rush hour is one issue. The trouble is if you're stuck
and have no idea where you are. Being stuck, not knowing where, and
this in a city that grew over 2000 years and was made for pedestrians
and a handfull of horse carriages - that's hell



Think of Paris as an old city that started off as a number of small
hamlets that had connecting roads and then merged so that many of the
main streets are the old connections. The streets are laid out like the
strands of a psychotic spider's web. Major streets run on a variety of
angles. Many of the roads go a few blocks, then change names and
direction.

The main boulevards of Paris were created in the mid-19th century by
Baron Haussmann.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haussma...ation_of_Paris

So the Army could fire their cannon balls down them.

On Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:48:42 -0700, Irwell wrote:

On Tue, 1 Nov 2011 22:22:28 +0000 (UTC), David Hatunen wrote:

The main boulevards of Paris were created in the mid-19th century by
Baron Haussmann.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haussma...ation_of_Paris

So the Army could fire their cannon balls down them.

Or, more likely, grapeshot.

--
Dave Hatunen, Tucson, Baja Arizona